Angra 3 construction

Work may now begin to build Brazil's third nuclear power reactor after regulators issued a construction permit.

Plant owner Eletronuclear said this means it can now pour concrete for the reactor's foundation slab, which as 'first concrete' would mark the official start of construction.

How Angra 3 should look come 2015 (Image: Eletronuclear)

Eletronuclear received the news in a letter from the National Commission for Nuclear Energy (CNEN), in which Alexandre de Arujo Goes Groman granted the licence after determining the company and the project meet requirements.

Angra 3 began life as a KWU pressurized water reactor in 1984 but development faltered two years later. About 70% of the plant's equipment had already been purchased and this has since been maintained on-site. In June 2007 a return to construction was approved by Brazil's National Energy Policy Council and this was followed by Presidential approval in July that year. In December 2008, Eletronuclear signed an industrial cooperation agreement with Areva, confirming that it would complete Angra 3 and be considered for supplying further reactors, of which Brazil wants up to 16 in coming years. With the start of construction imminent, Angra 3 should be completed in 2015 when it should produce 1270 MWe.

Eletronuclear said 600 million real ($327 million) had already been spent on equipment in the original phase of the project and this would be supplemented by a further 8.4 billion real ($4.5 billion), based on a June 2009 estimate.

The company said that the construction work would create 9000 direct and 15,000 indirect jobs, while during operation it would support 5000 jobs. Researched and writtenby World Nuclear News